lip

noun \ ˈlip \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Definition of lip

1 : either of two fleshy folds that surround the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and are organs of human speech essential to certain articulations; also : the red or pinkish margin of the human lip

2 slang : back talk

3 a : a fleshy edge or margin (as of a wound)

b : labium

c : labellum 1

d : a limb of a labiate corolla

4 a : the edge of a hollow vessel or cavity

b : a projecting edge: such as

(1) : the beveled upper edge of the mouth of an organ flue pipe

(2) : the sharp cutting edge on the end of a tool (such as an auger)

(3) : a short spout (as on a pitcher)

c : edge 2

5 : embouchure

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lipless

play \ˈlip-ləs\ adjective

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liplike

play \ˈlip-ˌlīk\ adjective

See lip defined for English-language learners

See lip defined for kids

Examples of lip in a Sentence

He had a cut on his lip.
She was nervously biting her lip.
the lips of a wound
the lip of a crater
the lip of a pitcher

Recent Examples of lip from the Web

Then there was the time, in 1977, when Jimmy Carter kissed the queen’s mother — on the lips, no less.

— katie rogers, New York Times, "From Truman to Trump, Queen Elizabeth Has Met 12 U.S. Presidents," 13 July 2018
Carter famously broke royal protocol by kissing the Queen Mother on the lips.

— ciara nugent, Time, "Here's How Every Meeting Between the Queen and a U.S. President Went," 12 July 2018
Davies, O’Connor and the Grant Park Orchestra nobly lived up to that formidable subject matter, Bolcom coming to the lip of the stage at the work’s conclusion to kiss the singer’s hand.

— howard reich, chicagotribune.com, "Grant Park Orchestra review: A fitting 80th birthday tribute to William Bolcom," 7 July 2018
The Army Corps of Engineers predicts that the reservoir that protects Des Moines from Des Moines River flooding will crest next weekend at a level above the lip of the concrete emergency spillway.

— CBS News, "Des Moines, Iowa, begins cleanup following historic flooding," 1 July 2018
The color red has roots in movements like the Suffragettes, and today, on the lips of a young woman who is making her mark in political history.

— refinery29.com, "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Red Lipstick Is More Than Just A Color," 28 June 2018
The weirdest of them all occurred on his 12th hole of the day at the par-4 third hole, where his third shot — an 18-foot birdie putt — landed just shy of the hole, hanging on the lip of the cup.

— christopher hanna, courant.com, "From Best Round To Top Moments, Here Are The 2018 Travelers Highlights," 25 June 2018
Bustle also reported that the lacquers feel extremely hydrating on the lips and feature a delicious vanilla-mint scent.

— allie fasanella, Allure, "Nyx Is Launching a Brand-New Lip Gloss, Liner, and Lipstick for Summer," 23 June 2018
Editors of the newsletter have inserted instead a picture of the lips of Kim Jong-um.

— leah garchik, SFChronicle.com, "San Rafael Pacifics’ personal tribute to fatherhood," 20 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lip.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of lip

Middle English, from Old English lippa; akin to Old High German leffur lip and probably to Latin labium, labrum lip

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

lip

adjective

Definition of lip

1 : insincere

lip praise

2 : produced with the participation of the lips : labial

lip consonants

Examples of lip in a Sentence

part of the ritual of the awards ceremony is the nominee's lip praise for the performances of his or her competitors

Recent Examples of lip from the Web

Back to school' music videos are a thing in Dallas-Fort Worth Advertisement Police lip sync videos have been all the rage for the summer of 2018, but a Fort Worth ISD teacher is prepping a 'back to school,' video to take take back their crown.

— diane smith, star-telegram, "Hey, Fort Worth students, do you know what time classes start next school year?," 13 July 2018
Cosplay events include a craftsmanship contest, a dating game and a lip sync battle.

— courant staff, courant.com, "Things To Do This Week," 9 July 2018
Theft An employee of a business in the 1900 block of Tower Drive told police June 26 that someone took lip balm off the shelf and left the store.

— alexandra kukulka, chicagotribune.com, "Blotter: Wallets stolen from lockers in Glenview," 6 July 2018
The full collection included four lipstick shades, four lip glosses, an eye-shadow palette, two lip pencils, and a bronzer.

— sarah spellings, The Cut, "Get Aaliyah’s M.A.C Makeup Collection Before It Sells Out," 21 June 2018
Cups are cut out of the sheet then enter a lip roller — imagine parallel coffee cans, spiraling fast, just barely touching — that curls the white edge of each cup in and under.

— christopher borrelli, chicagotribune.com, "That red plastic cup is a Chicago original. Proceed to party.," 29 June 2018
Turns out, lip augmentation-onset dryness is a strange phenomenon that people don't seem to tell their dermatologists about.

— devon abelman, Allure, "My Lips Felt Incredibly Dry After Getting Lip Injections — Here's Why," 10 May 2018
Just like last season, four queens are advancing to the finale, which looks to be another epic lip sync showdown.

— joey guerra, Houston Chronicle, "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 10 recap: 'American' gurls," 14 June 2018
Higgenbotham said this is especially important for women over 30 whose lip line may have started to blur with age.

— kirby adams, The Courier-Journal, "Pucker up! Here are the 6 spring (and Derby!) makeup trends you don't want to miss," 8 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of lip

1558

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

lip Synonyms

lip

verb

Definition of lip

lipped; lipping

transitive verb

1 : to touch with the lips; especially : kiss

2 : utter

3 : to lap against : lick

4 : to hit (a putt) so that the ball hits the edge of the cup but fails to drop in —usually used with out

intransitive verb

: to hit the edge of the cup without dropping in —used with out

the putt lipped out

Examples of lip in a Sentence

the waves, reflecting the red glow of the sunset, gently lipped the prow

Recent Examples of lip from the Web

In the past month, law enforcement agencies around the country have been posting videos of officers lip syncing and challenging other departments to do the same.

— asia fields, The Seattle Times, "Lip-syncing cops in Virginia challenge Seattle police in viral video," 10 July 2018
His pitch was pretty good given the circumstances, but his putt from about 12-feet lipped out, leaving for a bogey.

— adam woodard, USA TODAY, "Tiger Tracker: Follow Tiger Woods' Saturday round at his tournament, the Quicken Loans National," 30 June 2018
Other pitchers might drop an F-bomb but cover their faces with their gloves so fans (and umps) can’t lip-read their profanity.

— lee judge special to the star, kansascity, "What happens when a Royals player loses it? Why, he 'snaps,' of course | The Kansas City Star," 15 May 2018
Police and fire departments around the country have been challenging one another to lip sync battles this week.

— johnny diaz, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Boca Raton cop wows social media by lip-syncing to 'Frozen' song," 10 July 2018
Mueller and his team have been remarkably close-lipped throughout their investigation — keeping President Trump’s team, the media, and Washington generally in the dark both about their overall strategy and about what their next moves will be.

— andrew prokop, Vox, "Does Mueller think Paul Manafort is the key to collusion?," 15 June 2018
Social media stardom comes with fans and bullies Laverne was a freshman when her Musical.ly videos — mostly her offering makeup tutorials and deftly lip-syncing to pop songs — began gaining serious attention well beyond her high school classmates.

— justin jacobs, Indianapolis Star, "Greenwood teen has 3M Musical.ly fans. But after being bullied, she goes to school alone," 6 July 2018
About 50 percent of the score will be new selections, but the creators are being tight-lipped about what fans can expect to hear.

— christopher wallenberg, BostonGlobe.com, "A new ‘Moulin Rouge!’ for a new Colonial," 5 July 2018
No one needs advice from an ill informed, botoxed, ballon lipped idiot about what their vag should look like.

— refinery29.com, "Huda Beauty's Guide To Vagina Lightening Sparks Major Controversy," 7 May 2018

First Known Use of lip

1589

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

lip Synonyms

Synonyms

bathe, lap, lave, splash, wash;

Related Words

bubble, gurgle, plash, ripple, slosh;

lip-

combining form

variants: or lipo-

Definition of lip-

: fat : fatty tissue : fatty

lipoid

lipoprotein

Origin and Etymology of lip-

New Latin, from Greek, from lipos — more at leave

LIP Defined for English Language Learners

lip

noun

Definition of lip for English Language Learners

: either one of the two soft parts that surround the mouth
: the edge of a cut or hole
: the edge of a container especially where it is slightly spread out

LIP Defined for Kids

lip

noun \ ˈlip \

Definition of lip for Students

1 : either of the two folds of flesh that surround the mouth

2 : the edge of a hollow container (as a jar) especially where it is slightly spread out

3 : an edge (as of a wound) like or of flesh

4 : an edge that sticks out

the lip of a roof

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lipped

\ˈlipt\ adjective

Medical Dictionary

lip

noun \ ˈlip \

medical Definition of lip

1 : either of the two fleshy folds which surround the opening of the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and in humans are organs of speech essential to certain articulations; also : the pinkish or reddish margin of a human lip composed of nonglandular mucous membrane and usually exposed when the mouth takes on its natural set

2 : an edge of a wound

3 : either of a pair of fleshy folds surrounding an orifice

4 : an anatomical part or structure (as a labium) resembling a lip

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